Protesters who swarmed the grand final of the Eurovision song contest in Malmo, Sweden have been branded "disgraceful" after targeting Israel's contestant Eden Golan.
The 20-year-old singer was forced to stay in her hotel room and was given counter-terrorism police protection, as activists Queers For Palestine descended on the Malmo Arena.
The protesters had called for Golan to be removed from the competition, and condemned Israel's involvement.
Discussing the incident on GB News, political commentator Matthew Stadlen hit out at the protesters and slammed the "disgusting" treatment of Golan.
Matthew Stadlen has condemned the treatment of Israel's Eden Golan following Eurovision
GB News / Reuters
He fumed: "Eurovision to me is a gimmicky nonsense, but the thing that I did take very seriously was the hounding of this 20-year-old Israeli contestant, which I thought was thoroughly disgraceful.
"I am deeply opposed to what Israel is doing in Gaza, and I predicted it. That doesn't mean that you hound a 20-year-old woman who is not responsible for any of this."
Highlighting the atrocities committed on October 7, Stadlen told GB News: "It is particularly jarring, and I think grotesque, when you consider the acts of extreme sexual violence that were carried out against young Israeli women, many of them at this music festival on October 7th.
"Do these people have no shame? Find the right context in which to protest the horrors of what is happening to Gaza and women and children, but to almost stalk this 20-year-old Israeli is disgusting."
Eden Golan placed fifth in the competition following the grand final
Getty
Host Darren Grimes noted that Golan was forced to "have the maximum security and Israel's MI5 actually there with her in Malmo".
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Fellow political commentator Charlie Rowley was in agreement with Stadlen and said he "couldn't echo his thoughts enough".
Rowley told the panel: "It is a music competition. It is something that is supposed to bring light and hope across to the world through music and the grandstanding, frankly, of whether you're other competitors that had to be thrown out, whether you were reporters supposed to be bringing the results, who had to be stood down on the day through protest because of what they see in terms of Israel's actions, it is grandstanding on their part."
Rowley also defended Golan and said people should "recognise that she is a brilliant singer and only 20-years-old".
He continued: "She was representing her country, which she was absolutely entitled to do. She should be able to do that without any kind of fear or intimidation whatsoever.
"And the people that were protesting or the people that made her feel unsafe, have got an awful lot to answer for."
Matthew Stadlen said how Eden Golan was treated is 'disgraceful'
GB News
In defence of the agenda of the protesters, Stadlen also argued that there is a "perfectly reasonable case" for a boycott of some sort against Israel.
Stadlen said: "There are absolutely legitimate arguments around whether cultural boycotts should be instituted against particular countries.
"There is sometimes a need for cultural and sporting boycotts, whether Israel is right for that, there will be a big debate about."
